As a first-year student, you get a lot of advice on how to manage the start of this new chapter of your life. From student handbooks to online resources, many places offer tips and tricks that you can carry on with you throughout your studies and later in life. Things like ‘don’t procrastinate’, ‘eat well’, and ‘get involved on campus’ often make up part of the list of things you can do to both enjoy your university years and be successful, but there’s more!

Here are seven more ways to do well during your first year (and beyond!):

The start of a new semester is always filled with excitement, nerves, add-drop season, and the dramatic shift from perpetual procrastination to keeping up with classes. For returning students, it’s an opportunity to see friends we haven’t connected with for a while. For new students, it’s the beginning of new friendships and connections at the university. For new and old alike, it’s a period of time where we join new clubs and organizations, both on-campus and within the Montréal community!

When I started my first year at McGill, I was hesitant to join student societies and other groups because hanging out with strangers was terrifying. I wanted to concentrate on my studies, meet people living in my residence, and save enough time to Netflix daily. (more…)

Whether you’re working on personal projects, applying for scholarships, or preparing for applications in the fall, getting things accomplished in the summer can be a difficult task. With the sun finally coming out and festivals left and right, distractions often act as roadblocks between you and your work goal. Here’s how I try to keep on top of things, despite sometimes giving in to the summer temptations (more…)

I can be easily distracted. There’s easily half-a-dozen different lives and lifestyles that I can imagine for myself, and I could be happy with any of these paths. From dreams of being a traveling nomad, to desires of becoming articulate in movement through dance, to thoughts about continuing my studies in earth science, and even new pursuits of counseling psychology – these broad and varied interests all have a life of their own. I often find myself torn between the need to explore more into each of these interests and convincing myself to take my time, while at the same time, feeling restless about not being able to commit.

When I was on the Varsity Badminton Team, it was difficult to recruiting new talent because students believed that it is a huge time commitment. Personally, I felt being on the team did not take my time away, but rather it saved my time. Unfortunately, I only joined in my third year due to injuries. But my first semester on the team, I achieved my best GPA. And despite no longer playing for the team, currently I continue to train in a private badminton club. Here are the three main reasons why I believe having a regular extracurricular activity makes me more efficient and effective with my time:

Sometimes it’s easy to keep up with deadlines. Other times harder than scaling Mount Everest. It’s easy to push things for later and end up procrastinating. I find the hardest step to be getting started.

Stress season is about to hit again, so I would like to share some tips that I use to boost myself out of a low.

In the past few weeks I’ve been researching psychology graduate programs and seeing what they entail. I honestly wish I would have done this in my first year at McGill, as it would have made my life a lot simpler, but I can’t go back in time unfortunately. It’s now time for me to get serious and start preparing myself for my future.

Returning is always work. Settling in, doing laundry, restocking the fridge and figuring out which courses will help you get closer to the finish line. The reality is that you may end up going to more classes than ever right now and I encourage it. It’s time to hustle and utilize the Add/Drop.

Finals are finally over and hello to Christmas vacation! School can get pretty rough and rushed, especially during the end of each semester. To have one more cup or not to have one more cup, that is a rhetorical question.

Most university students consume coffee regularly and some turn to other stimulants in order to alleviate the stress and the workload. I was curious so I looked into some facts about coffee and energy drinks. (more…)

Entering the Fall 2015 semester, I was part of two planning committees, had two part-time on campus jobs, and was taking a full course load with five classes. I had everything planned out! My weekdays were perfectly structured. Most of my classes were scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which gave me ample time to work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It all seemed to fit perfectly! I mean, yes, I was out of the house everyday by 9am and returned around 8pm; and I barely had time to eat, sleep or hang out with my friends, but hey! I was gaining so much work experience and taking advantage of all the opportunities I was being offered at McGill! Yes, I knew it was going to be tough, but it will all work out in the end and be worth it, right?!

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